MSE Forum Poll: How often do you review your Direct Debits and standing orders?

MSE_JC

Out-of-date subscriptions, free trials that you forgot to cancel, unused gym memberships…these sorts of payments can be silently taking chunks out of your bank balance if you're not careful.

Staying on top of them is a good way to keep your finances in check (and protect yourself from scams), but remembering to find the time isn't always easy for everyone.

How frequently do you take a look at these regular outgoings?

horsewithnoname

my only DDs and SOs are to pay bills like council tax and utilities, and my credit cards, so those need to happen

Rob5342

I have a spreadsheet with all my regular outgoings on it that I look at every month. Whenever any utility comes to the end of contract I'll always look for the best deal, and with things like Netflix etc I'll always check if we are still using it enough.

If you get into the habit of checking it regularly then it takes very little time really.

Swipe

I run a low balance in my current account so I tend to check my upcoming bank outgoings daily in case I need to move money over from my interest earning accounts.

Jemma01

Annually; I keep an eye on my outgoings, so I'm often aware. I try to pay in one go to avoid monthly payments, so often annual reviews work to stop auto renewals

Eco_Miser

I ticked weekly, because I know exactly how much should be in the accounts, and get weekly balance notifications. In practice standing orders are only for moving money between my accounts, and direct debits only for paying utilities and credit card. There's one automated payment on my credit card, for my phone service. Again, I know how much has been spent on the credit card before I get the statement.

twopenny

I don't because they are only council tax and utilities so can't be avoided. I get detailed statements from each to keep track . I let them do the work.

subjecttocontract

I check every time either : the payments are changed up or down or there is a new or cancelled DD or SO.

brewerdave

I have ~ 12 DDs; split between 2 current accounts. Keep an eye on them since I had an issue with utility co. a few years ago, taking more than they should ! Normally check the accounts every couple of days anyway to top up or sweep excesses to savings.

vacheron

We only have a single "leisure and entertainment" recurring subscription which is YouTube Premium, and we use this extensively, so it's quite easy to keep track of that. 😊

enthusiasticsaver

I budget monthly so I add up direct debits and standing orders and if they are out of contract I check to make sure I cannot get it cheaper elsewhere. I also make sure we are getting value and cancel if we aren’t using subs sufficient.